Why the World Still Uses Coal, Oil and Natural Gas

Coal, oil, and natural gas are still dominant sources of energy despite the fact that renewable energy is getting more and more supporters. Wind power and solar power are becoming increasingly popular but coal, oil and natural gas have founded our economies and industries meaning they still have very strong political support.

Fossil fuels have more than just history on their side, what they also have is advantage in costs. Renewable energy is sadly still significantly expensive option compared to fossil fuels, and lower costs are really the key component that gives fossil fuels an edge.

Renewable energy technologies are constantly developing, and their development is dropping prices so they are getting near the prices of fossil fuels (especially wind power that is currently the cheapest renewable energy option). However getting near doesn't seem to be enough, and coal is thus still the most dominant energy source in the world, and world's greatest source of electricity.
In about 150 years time fossil fuels would likely be depleted, and world will have to have a decent replacement ready. From the current point of view using renewables looks like the only option capable to replace coal, oil, and natural gas but this is far future from where we are looking today.

Oil Companies Using Solar - The Ultimate Irony

GlassPoint is Using Solar Power to Draw Oil From the Earth

The energy debate is often categorized as the fossil fuel companies versus the clean energy companies. While there was certainly a major battle early on, the line has become much less clear these days. This is particularly true when you consider the fact that many oil companies now incorporate solar energy as part of the energy production for their facilities. Yes, it is the ultimate irony.

Oil is often hammered as being the ultimate evil these days. Well, it isn't. The room you are sitting in and the computer you are reading this on are all made possible by oil. In fact, our society never would have advanced to this level without it. Oil is not just in your car and gasoline. It is the base material of plastics and just about every critical material we use to make things. The problem, of course, is oil is a toxic pollutant. This is particularly true when burned, but it can cause messes in its natural form as we see in the BP gulf mess. This means a move to cleaner fuel sources just makes sense.